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The Real Republican Maverick: Maine Sen. Susan Collins FiveThirtyEight When most political followers hear Republican senator and maverick, they probably think of John McCain. He ran as part of a team of mavericks with Sarah Palin in 2008, after all. But whether or not McCain deserves the maverick label in general ... One Republican Would Subpoena Trump's Taxes If Russia Probe Goes ThereHuffington Post U.S. Senator Susan Collins | Maine PublicMaine Public all 106 news articles »

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The Real Republican Maverick: Maine Sen. Susan Collins - FiveThirtyEight

In 2013, Bannon was something of an outcast at CPAC. This week he spoke at the conference as one of the rights most powerful figures.CreditPHOTOGRAPH BY T. J. KIRKPATRICK / REDUX

On Thursday, Steve Bannon, President Donald Trumps most influential adviser, and Reince Priebus, Trumps frequently embattled chief of staff, spoke together at the Conservative Political Action Conference, the annual gathering for activists, politicians, and media professionals on the right. Bannon rarely speaks in public, but the two men have been conducting a media tour to tamp down stories about friction between them.

Bannon, who is a large man, was dressed in wrinkled khakis and an open shirt that Priebus teased him about. Priebus was dressed like Alex P. Keaton. Bannon spoke in fiery language, condemning the press and global lites and insisting that Trump would implement the nationalist agenda that he promised in his campaign speeches. This is the other thing that the mainstream media or opposition party never caught, Bannon said. Hes laid out an agenda with those speeches for the promises he made. And our job every day is just to execute on that.

Priebus was milquetoast, and his emphasis was on agenda items that have been free of the controversies that have engulfed Trumps Bannon-inspired plans on immigration and foreign policy. He noted that Trump hit his agenda every single day, whether its T.P.P., whether its deregulation, whether its Neil Gorsuch, Trumps Supreme Court nominee.

If there is a war between the two men to influence Trump, it was clear on Thursday why Bannon is winning. In bureaucratic fights, a White House staffer with strong and clear ideas, even ones that are bad, will beat a rival with no ideas every time.

The Bannon-Priebus appearance was a reminder of how quickly Bannons view of conservatism came to defeat Priebuss. Back in March, 2013, Bannon was something of an outcast at CPAC. In the wake of Mitt Romneys loss in the 2012 Presidential election, conservatives were trying to emphasize their movements diversity and tolerance. The prevailing takeaway from the election was that the right had grown too old, too white, and too intolerantand so CPAC, which often serves as an incubator for ideas emerging on the far right, needed to downplay the fringes of the movement.

The lineup of speakers that year was by no means a collection of squishy Republicans: the two biggest stars were the former Vice-Presidential nominee Sarah Palin and Donald Trump. But the emphasis from the main stage was on a welcoming small-government conservatism, and the energy in the audience came from libertarian activists, who stormed the conference and helped Senator Rand Paul win the meetings Presidential straw poll.

Bannon, who was the head of Breitbart News, roamed the halls as a disgruntled and dishevelled fringe player. Before the conference, he had scanned the schedule and complained that CPACs organizers had cast out the voices representing what he viewed as the real issues on the right: the threat from Islam, illegal immigration, and corporate Americas influence on politics.

He organized an evening of counterprogramming to highlight those issues, which he called the Uninvited. Even at the most conservative gathering in America, Bannon liked to play the role of aggrieved outsider.

On the CPAC sidelines, Bannon described his alternative lineup to an interviewer: A former Attorney General from the Bush Administration talking about jihad and the lites inability to recognize it. Peter Schweizer talking about crony capitalism. Pam Geller, Robert Spencer, Frank Gaffney, Nina Shea talking about the global persecution of Christians. These are huge topics. Illegal immigration. These are huge issues. They have to be vetted.

This is a conservative conference, supposedly, the interviewer asked. Why are these voices being silenced, in your opinion? I dont want to speculate, Bannon said.

Geller was viewed by most Republican leaders as an anti-Muslim extremist. In April, 2013, the month after CPAC, shecalled for profiling of Muslims, surveillance of mosques, and an immediate halt of immigration by Muslims into nations that do not currently have a Muslim-majority population. In 2015, she organized a Draw Muhammad contest, in Garland, Texas, where two men opened fire and were killed by police. Donald Trump, who had not yet surrounded himself with anti-Islam advisers, tweeted, The U.S. has enough problems without publicity seekers going out and openly mocking religion in order to provoke attacks and death. BE SMART. In an interview with Inside Edition he said, I have absolutely no respect for her. Shes putting people at great danger.

Gaffneys views on Islam are so extreme that CPACs board voted to ban him from the event after he accused its leaders of being secret agents for radical Islam and suggested that one CPAC leader was part of an influence operation that is contributing materially to the defeat of our country, supporting a stealthy effort to bring Shariah here.

Two years later, the world view pushed by Geller and Gaffney would become central to Trumps campaign for the Presidency. (Sebastian Gorka, a self-styled expert on Islam and terrorism who now works at the White House, was a regular guest on Gaffneys radio show.)

As for Schweizer, he remains the president of the Government Accountability Institute, a nonprofit that he co-founded with Bannon, in 2012. The institute incubated Clinton Cash, the book by Schweizer that perhaps did more than anything else during the 2016 campaignto frame the Clintons as corrupt tools of an international donor class.

So what was Priebus, who was then the chairman of the Republican National Committee, doing in 2013 while Bannon was promoting these views at CPAC? On the Monday after the conference, Priebus released a now infamous report about how Republicans could take back the White House. The key insight was that Republicans needed to reach out to nonwhite groups, use more tolerant language, and embrace and champion comprehensive immigration reform. Priebus wanted the report to serve as a road map for the Partys 2016 Presidential candidate. Trump, of course, ignored it and turned Hispanics and Muslims into the bogeymen of his campaign. He heeded the direction of Bannon, who argued that increasing the G.O.P.s share of the white vote was a surer path to victory.

It was no wonder, then, that Bannon looked so confident onstage on Thursday, while Priebus seemed fidgety and nervous. Acknowledging that his views have taken over the movement, Bannon at one point turned to Matt Schlapp, the president of the American Conservative Union, which hosts the event, and said, I want to thank you for finally inviting me to CPAC.

See the rest here:
How Steve Bannon Conquered CPACand the Republican Party - The New Yorker

To the editor: Please add Rep. Steve Knight (R-Palmdale) to your list of GOP legislators who are ducking their constituents during the current home district work week. (Congress shouldn't duck the public, Feb. 22)

Staff in his Santa Clarita and Simi Valley offices have not picked up the phone when I have called, nor have they responded to messages. I have tried repeatedly for days to get through.

When I spoke to a staffer in his Washington office, she provided a town hall meeting date of March 4 not this week during the break and couldnt tell us if the meeting is in person or a phone-in session. If its the latter, we know from experience that he will screen callers and allow questions from supporters only.

This is not democracy. It is not representative government. It is cowardice.

Marcy Rothenberg, Porter Ranch

Follow the Opinion section on Twitter @latimesopinion and Facebook

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Another L.A.-area Republican ducking his constituents - LA Times - Los Angeles Times

Jim Brulte hopesto keep a jobfew would envy: As chairman of the California Republican Party, hes tasked with trying to steer his party out of the wilderness in one of the bluest states in the nation.

As the party looks ahead to a high-stakes governors race and midterm elections in 2018, it faces a grim reality: A Republican hasnt been elected to statewide office here in more than a decade, and the Democrats hold a powerful supermajority in the state Legislature. The GOPsshare of registered voters in California is just 27.3%, its lowest since 1980, and it has yet to field a prominent candidate in the2018 governors race.

Brultevows that the partysfortunes will improve in the 2018 election, including one or two top-shelf candidates runningfor governor. Hell make hiscase in Sacramento this weekend atthe California Republican Partysthree-day convention,whereGOP delegatesbanking on Brulte to deliverare expected to vote Sundayin favor of extending hisreign as chairman fora third term.

Donald Trumps election providesanopening,Brulte said. Californias Democratic leadership is so focused on battling the new Trump administration that they are ignoring growing concerns at home, he said. The states roads, bridges and dams have fallen into disrepair, poverty is on the rise, middle-class families struggle to afford a decent home and massivepension liabilities still loomall problems that havefestered under the watch of Democratic Gov. Jerry Brown and the Democratic-controlled state Legislature, Brulte and other state Republican leaderssaid.

We are looking for opportunities where Democrats are out of step with the districts they represent because they are bowing down to a liberal Washington Democrat establishment that is fundamentally out of touch with where the country is, and where California is, Brulte said in a recent interview.

The difficulty will be convincing Californians that Republicans have the answers, especially asGOPleaders in Washington dismantle the Affordable Care Act, crack down on immigrants in the country illegally and strip away environmental protections moves that arepopular with aconservative base, but dont play well out west.

The first step is honestly acknowledging that the Republican brand is fractured, said Stanislaus County Supervisor Kristin Olsen, vicechairwoman of the state party. Then its taking clear steps to improve that brand, to tell people that we as California Republicans care about their daily struggles with healthcare, immigration policies, schools and economic opportunities.

GOP leaders have seenthe 2018 election as a potentialRepublican spring, a time when years of hard work helping Republicans win seats on city councils, county commissions and local school boards would begin to bear fruit in bigger races.

Despite their low numbers in Sacramento and Californias congressional delegation, Republicans have done well in local government races.As of earlier this year,Republicans accounted for 42% of elected city officeholders in California and Democrats accounted for 46%, according to data compiled by politicalconsulting firm GrassrootsLab. In the California Legislature, Republicans account for 32% of lawmakers and Democrats account for 68%.

Posts on city councils and county boards are nonpartisan. Candidates running for the Legislature, Congress and statewide office have their political party listed on the ballot, and that canbe a major obstacle in a deep-blue state.

Republican political consultant Matt Rexroad, who is a Yolo County supervisor and represents a Democratic-leaning district, said local governmentelections favor candidates with deep roots in their communities. Voters tend to back people they know.

Theyre largely student body president contests,Rexroad said of local elections. People are far more likely to trust the PTA president than somebody running on a pure policy agenda.

Former Rancho Cucamonga City Councilman Marc Steinorth parlayed his local political success into a seat in the California Assembly, an example of the bottom-up political strategy championedby Brulte.Steinorth, who owned an advertising firm and a string of pizza parlors in his community, campaigned door-to-door on issues such asjob creation, affordable housing and cutting through governmentbureaucracy.Hes won two straight Assembly elections in a district that includes San Bernardino and Redlands and where Democrats had a 7-percentage-pointedge in voter registration as of November.

I think that its easy for us to define everything based on party lines when were talking about the national level. But when were dealing with issues on a very local level, it really comes down to where are you on the policies, Steinorth said.Where are you on the issues, and are you caring about your community.

Despite Steinorths success, making the leap from city council to the Legislature or Congress hasproven to bedifficult for Republicansin all but the most deep-red parts of the state.

Brulte admits it could take time for the partyslocal strategy to pay off.

The Republican Party in California did not get in trouble in one election, Brulte said. It has been a multi-decade decline, and its going to take more than one or two elections for us to climb back.

It will be a steep climb if they do.For the first time in 2014, more voters in California were registered as nonpartisans or with third parties than as Republicans.

Republican political consultant Steve Schmidt said the GOPs declining voter registration numbers in California spell doom for the partys future prospects in the state.

Institutionally, its a third-party entity, said Schmidt, who worked for President George W. Bushs 2004 reelection campaign and helped run the 2008 presidential campaign of Republican Sen. John McCain. Youll see an independent candidate elected [governor] before you see a Republican elected again.

If that happens, it wont be for Republicans lack of trying, Brulte said.The partys No. 1 priority in 2018 is to elect a Republican governor, he said.

We believe there will be one or two very strong candidates on our side, Brulte added, but he declined to say whom they might be. Weve spent a significant amount of money seeing if there is a path for a Republican to win statewide, and we believe there is.

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The path to victory could depend on finding aRepublican candidate who cancoalesce GOP supportand appeal to independents and moderates. That person must also survivea primary election battle againstthe Democratic heavyweights already in the race, including Lt. Gov. Gavin Newsom, former Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa and state Treasurer John Chiang.

So far no well-knownRepublicans havestepped forward to run for Californias top post. San Diego Mayor Kevin Faulconer, thought by many to be the GOPs best shot at the office, has said repeatedly that he wont run. Ashley Swearengin, the former Fresno mayor who lost her bid for state controller in 2014, has also said shes not interested.

If you dont field credible and competitive statewide candidates, for some of the offices at least, I think the voters start to take that as a concession. And thats a dangerous place to be in the minds of the electorate, said Rob Stutzman, a Republican strategist and former spokesman for Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger.

Theres also aseries of potential obstacles for Republicans that hassprung out of Trumps victory. Experts say the Trump White Housecould distract California Democrats from pressing battles back home, but it could alsoenergize the progressive resistance enough to deterRepublican candidates and donors.

And with Trump now the leader of the national party, it could be more difficult for GOP members of Congress to distance themselves from the president, as many California Republicansdid in the November election.

Progressive activists haveshowed up at thedistrict offices of Republican members of Congressto protest votes on Trumps cabinet appointments and plans to repeal the Affordable Care Act. If the liberal uprising lasts,it could knock Republicans off kilter.

Whatever Trumps impact on California Republicans, its unlikely to be direct, saidTammy Frisby, a research fellow at Stanford UniversitysHoover Institution. Republicans running for statewide and legislative offices should have no problem distancing themselves from the president, Frisby adds, but having Trump in the White House could be dangerous for them if either side feels that the presidents policies could leave California Republicans vulnerable in 2018.

Whether a Trump problem for California Republicans is real or not, it could be a self-fulfilling prophecy if good candidates dont run and big donors dont give, she said.

Mike Osborn, chairman of the Ventura County Republican Party, believes that Trumps election may actually work to the advantage of California Republicans. With the Democratic Party so focused on the Trump administration, and the need to protect Democratic U.S. senators up for reelection in 2018,the GOP could land some significant victories, he said.

I think its going to be pulling a lot of big [Democratic] money out of California, Osborn said.

In the early days of Trumps presidency, as Democratic leaders across the statefocused on the White House, top Republicans have done anything but. Last week, it appeared, the Democrats began to take notice.

Im tired of talking about Donald Trump, Assembly Speaker Anthony Rendon(D-Paramount) told a gathering of California newspaper publishers. If Hillary Clinton had gotten elected president of the United States, we would have started the year with 2.5 million children in California living in poverty. If Hillary Clinton had been elected president of the United States, we would have started the year with crumbling roads.

Mike Madrid, a Sacramento Republican consultant, quickly seized on Rendons comments, congratulating Assembly GOP Leader Chad Mayes for forcing Democrats to finally address poverty in California.

Mayes response was onethat state Republicans are likely to keep in their back pocket as they attempt to win back their stature in the Golden State:Im thankful were going to focus on the problems right here in [California].

phil.willon@latimes.com

christine.maiduc@latimes.com

For more on California politics, follow @philwillon and@cmaiduc.

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Can the California Republican Party bounce back in 2018? Here's the chairman's game plan - Los Angeles Times

The passion and breadth of the anger has had many comparing this to the tea party uprising of eight years ago, a momentous shift in politics that ushered Republican control of the House.

After having watched these meetings across the country, a few trends have popped up: the election never ended, President Donald Trump is a lightning rod for Republicans and more.

The town hall battles began with the fight over Obamacare and some of the most deeply personal exchanges have come from people who are worried changes to the Affordable Care Act will cut their health care coverage.

Kati McFarland, a 25-year-old University of Arkansas student, pressed Sen. Tom Cotton continuously about what he was going to do about her rare degenerative disease.

"Will you commit today to replacements in the same way that you committed to the repeal?" McFarland asked the Arkansas Republican. But as Cotton attempted to say it was time for another question, the crowd shouted over him, pushing him back to her question with a simple chant: "Yes or no!"

After peppering Cotton with more tough questions, she ended with: "Before they ask their (questions), I would like an answer to mine."

At other times, when it has appeared the lawmakers are ducking the question -- protesters have turned the Affordable Care Act into a chant, screaming "ACA! ACA!"

Sen. Bill Cassidy, a Louisiana Republican and medical doctor, was shouted down repeatedly when he attempted to explain his position.

"Would you rather hear this man yell, or me answer a question?" asked Cassidy, who has co-authored a proposal that would allow states to keep Obamacare. A woman in the crowd fired back "Hear him yell!"

Trump is the President but the issues raised during the campaign are far from over.

Toby Smith, 7, pressed Cotton on Trump's words on immigrants as well as his proposal to make certain budget cuts.

"Donald Trump makes Mexicans not important to people who are in Arkansas who like Mexicans, like me, my grandma," Smith said.

"And he is deleting all the parks and PBS Kids just to make a wall ... and he shouldn't do that," said Toby, voicing fears of some that the Trump administration will cut financial support to the National Park Service and public television.

The continuing investigation of Russian interference in the US elections -- and their talks with Trump campaign officials -- are constantly brought up as well.

"Will you hold Russia accountable for hacking, and how?" yelled one person at Rep. Leonard Lance's town hall Wednesday night in New Jersey. This spurred Lance to say he would consider supporting stronger sanctions on Russia.

Rep. Tom Reed, who along with all other Republicans on the House Ways and Means Committee last week turned away a Democratic effort to get the committee chairman to use his legal authority to obtain the returns, explained his position to voters.

"The reason why we voted against that is because if the government goes on an attack on one individual, that is a very dangerous level of power," Reed said. "We make sure the government is held in check."

Reed's answers were met with loud boos, and chants of "Do your job!" "What are you covering up?" and "Russia! Russia! Russia!"

It's hard to see any of these town hall protests happening if any other Republican other than Trump was in the White House.

Merlee Harison said she simply would not have been out if Trump was not in office, as she stood in line with close to 2,000 others waiting to get into Cotton's town hall.

But Harison also said her anger extended past Trump to include Cotton, because she views Trump as a "fog screen" for Republicans trying to push their priorities.

"I think most people understand Trump -- know what he is, know what he isn't. I'm here because I'm concerned about the Republicans who now think they have a mandate to do whatever they pleased," said Harison, 80, of Fayetteville, Arkansas. "You don't see this kind of thing when everybody is happy."

Cotton did not directly say Wednesday evening whether he blamed Trump for the surprising turnout, but he laughed when asked if the town would be as crowded if Marco Rubio had won the White House.

"That's fine, they can be angry with me, happy with me, I still serve them no matter what they feel about what I'm doing. I'm here to try to answer the questions as best I can and also to hear from them, so I'm looking forward to this evening and hope they are, as well," Cotton told CNN.

For now, Trump is to the left what Obama was to the right eight years ago. It's even led some liberals to say they now empathize with tea partiers.

Sanjay Rajput, a Democrat who attended Virginia Rep. Dave Brat's town hall Tuesday, agreed with the notion that the highly charged environment at many town halls now resembles the tea party influence over town halls six years ago, saying, "if it worked for them, it should work for us."

"If I could, I'd go up to a tea party person right now and apologize for accusing them of being paid because that's what I did," he added. "Nobody's paying me. I'm standing up for what I believe."

Some Republicans -- including Trump -- have reacted to the sometimes-rowdy town hall crowds by suggesting they are paid protesters.

The protesters are returning fire, by introducing themselves to members as local residents or bringing signs with their zip codes.

The Republicans who seem to perform the best are those who host in-person town halls and face questions, even if from an angry crowd, rather than ducking constituents while home during the congressional recess. Rep. Mark Sanford, a conservative from South Carolina, even coordinated his recent town hall with protesters there.

Lance, the moderate New Jersey Republican, said on CNN's "New Day" he was happy 1,300 people showed up and that he was holding another town hall Saturday.

Sen. Chuck Grassley, a veteran Iowa lawmaker and Republican stalwart, said: "I learned that we've got issues that people feel very strongly about and we have to try to deal with them."

Contrast that against the Republicans who refused to have town halls.

Protesters crashed Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell's fundraiser for a Kentucky business group Tuesday. A mock, empty seat town hall targeting House Speaker Paul Ryan was held in Wisconsin because he declined to hold any town halls this break. And protesters have been trying to crash other Republican fundraisers -- an Ohio group almost made it into one held by Sen. Rob Portman Wednesday night.

The Republicans who have gone halfway, attempting to control the fury, have met with similar backlash. Iowa Sen. Joni Ernst ducked out the back of her public meeting after attempting to keep questions limited to selected veterans in the crowd. Rep. Jim Jordan, an Ohio Republican, attempted to stick to his President's Day plans Monday, but a crowd of roughly 200 protesters showed up and forced him to take their questions for 45 minutes.

After only one month in to the new administration, it would be easy to dismiss the protests as leftover angst from the election -- and that anger clearly fuels much of it. But the protests have grown to look more like a Democratic tea party and less like the second version of Occupy Wall Street, which flared up but fizzled without any sustained fuel.

New actions from the White House, such as repealing Obama administration protections for transgender students, will only keep the left engaged.

While the people who attend town halls may be locals, there are still professional organizers and scores of out-of-work Democratic staffers looking to strike back at Trump and Republicans. Leaders from the Indivisible group are former congressional staffers who have been advising local Indivisible chapters on how to organize and then confront their lawmakers.

The founder of Ozark Indivisible, Caitlynn Moses, started with the group's guidebook a little over a month ago, and by Wednesday night she had led 2,000 people to confront Cotton. Cotton even arranged to meet in person with Moses before the event, then invited her on stage to ask the first question.

The big caveat is whether any of the energy will carry into the 2018 elections the same way it did for tea partiers and Republicans in 2010. This past week has been one recess, and then lawmakers head back to the Capitol, away from protesters. Tea party activists had the entire summer after House Democrats passed Obamacare to flood their town halls.

The first explosive town hall caught Rep. Jason Chaffetz offguard in deep-red Utah, two weeks ago, and put Republicans on guard heading into this week.

It's not clear how hot the fire will burn when the lawmakers are back in Washington.

CNN's Ashley Killough, Eric Bradner, Eli Watkins, Jeanne Sahadi and Jordan Malter contributed to this report.

The rest is here:
Five takeaways from the Republican town halls - CNN